Haman is the villain in the biblical Book of Esther . He was a high-ranking official in the court of the Persian King Ahasuerus. When Mordecai, a Jew , refused to bow down to Haman, Haman became enraged. He plotted to have all the Jews in the Persian Empire killed.
Queen Esther was Mordecai’s cousin and also Jewish. But the king did not know that she was Jewish. Risking her life, Esther told the king she was a Jew and pleaded for her people. Esther succeeded, and Haman was hanged instead of Mordecai. Jews celebrate this story with the festival of Purim .
